Actress Eliza Dushku speaks out about being sexually abused

The Albanian-American actress spoke out against sexual abuse, recounting an assault she said took place 25 years ago during the filming of True Lies.

Actress Eliza Dushku wrote in a Facebook statement on Saturday that when she was 12 years old, Joel Kramer, at the time a 36-year-old Hollywood stunt coordinator, sexually abused her in a hotel room.

“Ever since, I have struggled with how and when to disclose this, if ever,” the Albanian-American actress wrote regarding the alleged assault. “I am grateful to the women and men who have gone before me in recent months. The ever-growing list of sexual abuse and harassment victims who have spoken out with their truths have finally given me the ability to speak out.”

Dushku was referencing a growing number of women who have gone on the record to expose sexual abuse across all occupations and socio-economic classes, with media especially focusing on abuses in Hollywood and politics.

Public attention on sexual abuse was heightened when the New York Times reported on allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of methodological abuse of women in October last year. In December, Time magazine named “The Silence Breakers” as “person of the year.”

“Sharing these words, finally calling my abuser out publicly by name, brings the start of a new calm,” Dushku concluded in her statement.